Mark Forrest

He muttered something about taking reference photos to help a friend, but I think what we're actually witnessing here is Spams' secret admiration of the Manor class

Important pre-Member's Day traditions to be upheld.

6 hours ago, Grimleygrid said:

 

I was under the impression that it was a model railway exhibition layout Black Country Blues.....

Did nobody warn you?  BCB is much more than a layout, it's a way of life.  You'll soon be living on a diet of pork scratchings, gray pays and Holden's Mild.

Good luck 😉

After a couple of weeks of local rides, an opportunity presented itself to get away today; based on the weather forecast and time we had available we chose the Malvern Hills.

I've not ridden there before, but a quick Google confirmed there are three waymarked MTB loops, the longest of which is about 12 miles long, plus loads of bridleways (and some crazy steep off piste trails).

The plan had been to start out from North Quarry car park, do the long loop, then repeat part of that to do one of the shorter loops. In the end though, a wrong turn and a bit of exploring meant there wasn't enough left in the legs for much more!

Some great views and the weather was kind to us.  My legs have some recovering to do after 2500' of climbing in a 12.5 mile ride, not a bad way to start the week though.

20 minutes ago, spikey said:

 

It feels like a piston could be stuck but then frees, but what's the odds on that?  Any ideas for a proper diagnosis and a cure?

I'm not familiar with Tekro brakes, but had what sounds like the same issue with some Shimano XT (M8000).

I think in the end I determined that the problem was at the lever end, possibly the shaft into the master cylinder sticking.  I tried a bleed which didn't help, so when it looked like it was going to cost money to fix them, I replaced them with some Hope brakes instead, so didn't really work out what the cause was.  Ironically, it's the Hopes that have developed a sticking piston and put a mild dampener on yesterday's otherwise enjoyable ride, but a least with them all the component parts are readily available and an hour tinkering should resolve it.

I can, at times, be fairly disparaging about our local riding, it's largely a case of (over) familiarity breeding contempt.  As a result I rarely stop to admire the view or take a photo, today though I made a point of doing just that.

This was near the top of the first climb, just before dropping into a trail that will take us back down into the valley we'd just climbed out of, ready to climb back up again!

After a bit of revisiting a few old favourite trails we crossed to the hill on the otherside to locate a couple of trails I'd spotted on Strava but never ridden.

At this point, we're no more than a mile (as the crow flies) from home, in fact we could see our house in the middle distance through the trees.  The trails here drop reasonably steeply back down into the valley on the left; the OS map labels this area Hell Hole.  Trail conditions still a little too sloppy under tree cover, but drying up nicely out in the open.  I reckon a couple more dry days we'll have near perfect conditions and a nice bit of fresh loam to play in.

Had such a good ride, I'd almost forgotten about the sticking front brake caliper that left me reluctant to brake too hard for fear to would lock in - still, at least it wouldn't have been far to walk home if it had!

3 hours ago, Nickey Line said:

By coincidence I did one of my favourite rides today, down to a Hertfordshire cycling hub, Spokes Cycles CC, run by an ex-pro team mechanic. They do high-end second-hand and classic bikes, as well as custom builds... and a mean sourdough cheese toastie!

https://www.spokecycles.cc/

A couple of useful routes on their website too, thanks for that link.  Work takes me to WGC every couple of weeks and I'd been thinking about going for an after work ride on the gravel bike when the nights get a bit lighter - thanks

Coles crane or similar, possibly with jib removed for transport?

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

Put another way: there are enough good bikes and parts in the U.K. already, they just need to be matched with the right owners.

Local to me, Lichfield  Re:cycle (a volunteer run charity) aim to do exactly that (amongst other things).

https://lichfieldrecycle.org.uk/

Can only speak from a MTB perspective, but we've had no trouble at all selling on unwanted components, frames and (on one occasion) a complete bike advertising either on Pinkbike or Singletrack classifieds, eBay or by posting in owner's groups on Facebook.

I also know that from time to time a my LBS has a customer's used bike for sale and another have a fleet of hire bikes that they generally sell off at the end of the summer.  In my experience I'd say the secondhand marketing is doing very well without dealers, although the idea of setting up such a dealership and spending all day tinkering with bikes does sound appealing!

After getting out for a couple of local rides first on Sunday afternoon and then on Tuesday night; tiredness and lack of motivation has got the better of me tonight.  Still, I managed an hour of daylight after work to do a few maintenance jobs outside.  Also swapped the wheels off my hardtail onto my full sus so it has tyres more suited to the (more interesting) muddy sloppy trails away from the official trails.

I'm told that some of the local trail builders have been busy with some new stuff, so hopefully I'll get to have a run down a couple of those at the weekend, especially if it dries out a little bit.

All this n+1 activity is making me very envious!

@big jim what size wheels are on the 805?  I've got a little used 27.5 (650b) Mavic wheel set sitting in the shed which won't fit anything we own.  I held onto them thinking I might run 650b on my gravel bike, but the frame is through axle and the wheels are quick release, so it's not gonna happen!  Let me know if they're of any use to you.

3 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

I’ll do a bit of research. Doesn’t one need extra tools/gubbins to deal with them though?

That depends a lot on the tyres and rims, some will seat just fine with a track pump, others require a shot of air to get them seated.  One trick that often works is to seat the tyre using a tube, then unseat the bead on one side only to remove the tube, reseat the tyre and inflate.

There are various homemade options you can use to give the tyre a shot of high pressure air if needed, ranging from drinks bottles to old fire extinguishers; personally I use an Airshot cylinder which I inflate to about 120psi from a track pump.  It's never failed to seat a tyre yet.

30 minutes ago, Jack Benson said:

Mark,

 

I forgot to ask you, what or rather where was Iain’s inspiration for the water treatment works?

 

Thanks and StaySafe

He refers to it as Cranleigh, but it takes its inspiration from the Hampton Waterworks Railway, West London.   I'll PM you some further info.

There is a narrow gauge water treatment layout design in his Urban Layouts book.

37 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

 

That was really what I was driving at earlier: commercial "mountain bikes" were like until the early 1990s, even top notch ones, and many (most, all??) had three rings at the front. If you look at what Jim, yourself, and I all bought c1990, they are incredibly similar. They were actually very good for what gravel bikes get used for now, and although all steel, the better ones weren't heavy. The only disadvantage was that the wide-ish flat bars made them tiring on the shoulders on very long rides.

For me, having that gap of not really riding for about 20 years between the mid 90s and the mid 2010s it was remarkable to see how bike design has changed - most of mine are still steel (except the titanium gravel bike).  Feels like (from a mountain bike perspective) geometry has reached a point where it's hard to see how it could get much better.  Just look at how slack the seat tube angle was on things like my old Mustang compared to something like my Murmur!

As an aside, I see the Raleigh Mustang name has made a comeback as a gravel bike.  I really must resist the temptation to start looking for one like my old one on eBay...

17 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Hearing others’ personal reminiscences of ‘recent bike history’ would be interesting.

My bike history really starts with a red Gitane branded BMX that I must have received as a Christmas present around 1984.  I loved that bike, although as a kid I had virtually no mechanical sympathy for it, luckily it was tough as old boots.  I seem to remember both pedals got so badly smashed into kerbs that all which remained was the axles, but I still managed to keep riding it.

That was followed a few years by my first mountain bike (or should that be all terrain bike?) a Raleigh Mustang.  That's where I got my taste for doing a bit of bike mechanics; I stripped it down, sprayed it matt black from a rattle can and upgraded the 15 speed gears to SIS.

Photo off the Internet, mine is long gone, sadly.

Once I started to drive, I forgot all about bikes, except for a brief period in the late '90s when I had a nondescript aluminium hardtail that I used for occasional commuting.

Fast forward to about 6 years ago, with a house renovation project coming to an end and a bit more free time on our hands, wifey suggested we get some mountain bikes, which is where our current obsession with riding really took over.  We got a couple of hardtails and started to ride the local trails on Cannock Chase, then getting a bit more adventurous, travelling to places like Llandegla, but it was riding more natural trails in the Peak District and Shropshire that we enjoyed the most.  From then on there have been a couple of Cotic hardtails (a BFe that I sold last year and a Solaris that I probably ride most often).  First full sus was also a Cotic, the Rocket Max that I've just finished rebuilding for Sarah.

But pride and joy goes to my current  "big" bike, the Starling Murmur.

My first experience of riding a drop bar bike didn't come until last year, when I got a gravel bike to add a bit of variety after enjoying a few longer distance, less technical rides during the lockdowns; it's a long way from jumping off badly built ramps on the BMX.

1 hour ago, The Great Bear said:

Hi all, I am looking at buying an electric bike for leisure use. Whilst I can't see my riding off road is there any advantage in getting a gravel bike rather than a road bike and change tyres? I am very overweight 20st so would a gravel bike be slightly more robust?

Gravel covers a fairly broad spectrum from slightly beefed up all-road bikes through to what are virtually XC MTBs.

A gravel frame will (generally) offer greater tyre clearance than a road frame, giving you broader (literally) choice of tyres.  You might also find the geometry gives a slightly more relaxed upright position in the saddle - somewhere between road and MTB.

Disadvantages of gravel over road; tyres won't be as fast rolling,  bike likely to be a bit heavier.  Question is, if you're looking at something with electric assistance, would you notice or will the motor make up for it anyway?  Can't help there unfortunately as I've never ridden an e-bike, but seem to recall something on GCN talking about a 20 watt difference to maintain the same speed on road and gravel tyres.

Personally I'd suggest looking at something more gravelly, even riding on road with the poor surface of some roads and the amount of potholes you encounter on quiet country lanes I'd favour the comfort of a wider tyre for a small increase in effort/decrease in speed.

31 minutes ago, Classsix T said:

On the flip side, today's commute was ruined by a DPD van driver that apparently was of the opinion that he could continue reversing out onto a main road as long as there was no audible "thump" from the rear of the vehicle. This the day after I'd seen another ASDA car-park moron thinking the stripes on the road surface are just for decoration, not to, you know, indicate where your supposed to STOP.

 

Morons, C6T.

I'm not intending to make excuses for what could well amount to careless or even dangerous driving,  but one thing I have learnt since getting a van myself is how poor the visibility is from the driver's seat when looking over your left shoulder to reverse out of, for example, a parking spot.

Driving a small van for leisure purposes, I'm mindful of this when I park; under pressure to make multiple drops on a tight schedule - courier drivers have my sympathy.  While I'm not making excuses, it's given me a bit more understanding and tolerance of some of the behaviour I see on the road, and made me think carefully about how I position myself on the road around vehicles like these when out on the bike.

Regarding bar width, I run 780mm on my hardtail with a 35mm stem; 800mm on the full suss which currently has a (potentially slightly too long) 50mm stem - so 760 doesn't sound particularly wide to me.  I'm a sucker for marketing hype though so it's entirely possible mine are wider than they really need to be.  I'd definitely reduce it in steps rather than go straight to something very narrow. The combination of narrow bar and short stem might feel twitchy, so you might want to pair the narrow bar with a longer stem.

Front wheel lifting when climbing definitely all about bending the elbows.

On the tyres, I'd go for something around 2.1 to 2.2 inch.  Loads of choice of brands, tread patterns and compounds; you should certainly be able to find something faster rolling and lighter, while retaining the comfort/grip of a wider tyre if you feel the need.  Definitely consider going tubeless if not already.

22 hours ago, PMP said:

@Mark Forrest you mentioned crossing snake, im hoping to ride that next week or so, are there still vehicles on it using it for access?

@PMP might be an idea to give it a miss, unfortunately...

9 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Anyway, I'm experiencing scenery envy every time you post pictures. And, "ability to cycle up steep scenery" envy too, I think. You certainly do have access to the real thing.

Sadly, it's back to work tomorrow so it's likely to be a few weeks of local rides and/or Zwift for me - can't complain too much though.

5 minutes ago, PMP said:

@Mark Forrest you mentioned crossing snake, im hoping to ride that next week or so, are there still vehicles on it using it for access?

Yes, and plenty of roadies cruising up and down it today too. Think I did see a mention on Facebook that there were barriers at Ladybower to prevent access when there is work going on.  I think I read that the official line is that it remains open to local, but not through traffic.

4 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

 

- overly large steps between gears.

 

My path bike has a wide ratio eleven speed, and the steps between gears on that can feel too big on long rides.

 I think, to some extent, the steps between gears thing depends on what you're used to (and probably where/what you ride).  My 1x11 with a 11-50 tooth cassette probably has some huge steps between gears, but can honestly say it's not something I've ever noticed.

Third ride of my week off work; Castleton and Hope Valley.

As a mountain biker, the best thing about living so close to one of the busiest trail centres in the UK is that we're only an hour drive west to the the Shropshire hills or east to the Peak District  . A bit of a favourite ride this, a route we keep coming back to (with minor variations to add in a fourth descent depending on how we're feeling).

From Castleton, the old Broken Road climb up to Mam Tor, along to Hollins Cross then down to Edale.  A brief spun along the Edale road alongside the railway - saw a Colas 56 running light engine towards Edale), then bridleway from Nether Booth to Jaggers Clough and Hope Cross.

Second descent, Blackley Hey (aka Potato Alley), across the unusually quiet Snake Pass, which is closed due to landslides, and up past Rowlee Farm to descend Lockerbrook and pass the Dambusters monument at Fairholmes.

The look of concentration/fear on Sarah's face at the end of Potato Alley was largely due to poor tyre choice!

A steady bimble past Ladybower and we were on the home stretch back to Hope then along the road to Castleton.

Always a good ride in any conditions but a bit of sunshine made it even better after the last few rides being on overcast days.  It was quite busy out, but only really noticeable around the usual tourist hot spots.